Calvert Cliffs
,
Potomac River
, & Surrounding Areas
Maryland Spring Trip
June, 2007
Exposures of the Calvert and Choptank Formations
Amy and I decided to kick it at the Chesapeake Bay area for our first summer trip. We met up with Paleoscan and Larry Decina of the DVPS. Larry came down in hopes of collecting at Belvedere Beach. For those who don’t know of the beach, Belvedere Beach was a VERY productive Paleocene site in the past, but is now next to impossible to get to.
On our first day, we took the fossilski out and dropped Amy and Paleoscan off at the transitional tooth site. Larry and I then took the fossilski and headed to Belvedere Beach. Unfortunately I misread the map and thought Belvedere was only 10 or so miles from our boat ramp. So, after 10 or so miles on the water and not seeing the beach, I pulled out the GPS, looked up the coordinates and notices were still about 20 miles away!!!! Eventually we made it only to discover the beach had really changed. New riprap had been added which changed the current dynamics. The beach was tiny and none of the fossil layer was eroding. After spending a half hour or so in disappointment, we hopped on the fossilski and darted back to the boat ramp, sucking fumes as we pulled in.
After getting Larry ashore, I headed back out to pick up Amy and Paleoscan, all the time hoping they would do better. Amy found almost nothing, while Paleoscan managed to find a nice transitional tooth (Woohoo!).
After an extended fossil hunting day, we retired to Paleoscans beach cabin. At the cabin, we shot off fireworks and feasted on a rather large pork shoulder that was brilliantly smoked in a "big green egg" for 20 odd hours. The “big green egg” is a pretty cool contraption. If you haven’t seen one, they are usually featured in the “Sky Mall” magazines on various airlines. I’m sure a simple Internet search will provide information on the egg as well.
Day two of our hunt was a little easier. We boated to some Miocene exposures along the bay area. With the potential this spot holds, we didn’t do so well. I managed to find a decent mako. Other nice looking makos and worn megs were also found.
After getting trapped by the incoming tide, Amy and I had to wade through a few feet of water for about 50 yards or so. This nice sized snake decided to pop its head out of the water right in front of us then submerge. Having no were to go, we proceeded wading through the muddy water in its direction. Ever few minutes its head would pop out of the water around us. We were kind of perturbed since we didn't know if it was poisonous or not. Later I researched it and discovered it was just a harmless Northern Water Snake. All the fuss about nothing!
Here, we see Larry at Belvedere beach attempting to find land to collect on.
One of the better finds of the trip, a mako slightly over 2".
Here is a close-up of the mako.
These are a few of Larry's finds. Among them lies a decent mako.
These are some of Paleoscans finds. Notice the "otodus" looking tooth. It is actually a transitional. It has small serrations running halfway up the blade.
This is a close-up of the transitional tooth. The picture is too blurry to see the serrations, but trust me, they are there!
Here are my finds. The fossils below the ruler are Paleocene from the Belvedere beach area.
This is a close-up of the largest mako of the trip.
